NASCAR: NASCAR: Caution rule

I watched parts of the Pocono 500 today and it was a pretty good race and there were even a few wrecks. I'm glad I didn't watch the entire thing because I would have been even more mad after watching the cars follow single file through the final 4 laps and Stewart wining on a caution.

I know this is the rule, but in my opinion it stinks. The last four laps behind a pace car? The last four laps?

The last four laps to NASCAR is comparable to the bottom of the 9th inning in baseball, the 2 minute warning in football, the homestretch of a horse race.

I'm just a casual NASCAR fan, but I was very disappointed at the end of that race. If it were up to me, if there was a wreck with under 5 laps left, then the race would restart in the same order at the time of the wreck and race 5 laps when the wreck is cleared.

What do you think?

LONG POND, Pa. -- Tony Stewart was waiting for bad luck to ruin another good performance.

It didn't happen, and a third straight powerhouse performance, combined with fast work by his crew, carried Stewart to victory Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

He was leading and in control in each of his last two races -- and lost.

Stewart had an engine problem two weeks ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway, then lost at Dover International Speedway after NASCAR imposed a one-lap penalty for stopping slightly out of his stall on pit road.

He took the lead for the final time with 11 laps left when Todd Bodine and Jeremy Mayfield pitted, but got a bad break when Kurt Busch blew a tire to bring out a caution flag with eight to go.

But Stewart's Chevrolet led Mark Martin's Ford when the green flag waved for the final three laps and beat him back to the line by five car lengths after Terry Labonte spun out Jeff Green to end the $4.2 million race under caution. Mike Skinner also wrecked on the final lap.

espn.go.com...

i'm kind of iffy on the whole ending a race under caution. at a track like talladega, and daytona, it takes so long to get up to speed and is very dangerous so i can see the use of it there. pocono is a long track in itself but they don't use restrictor plates there. in my opinion it depends on where little E is. if he's in the top 5 and it don't look like he's gonna be able to win, then they end it under caution. if he's leading, they end it under caution. if he's out then they run it. Nascar goes out of their way to get him points, i can't prove this but it seems the rules get bent around to benefit him. look at him passing under the yellow line at taladega and they did nothing, sterling marlin did the same thing, and he got penalized. i know this has nothing to do with anything but in my opinion Nascar has their favorite drivers and they bend the rules to benefit them. that's all this is.

There were alot of cautions at the end of today's race in Pocono but at least they ran the last 12 laps under green.